After watching a four-goal lead evaporate in a matter of minutes in the third period, the Comets found enough resolution to knock off favored Orange in overtime, 6-5, to win their first Baron Cup II hockey tournament on Sunday at the Coyne Recreation Center in Brooklyn.

Freshman defenseman Ben Peterson notched the winner when he sent home the rebound of a shot by fellow freshman Zach Mandry at 5:23 of the extra session. It capped a week that saw the eighth-seeded Comets (11-13-1) defeat the top two seeds.

It was also Solon's first win in four games this season against the No. 2-seeded Lions (24-6), who showed plenty of fortitude in coming back from a 5-1 deficit.

"We had nothing to lose," said Peterson, who had an apparent game-winning goal waved off five seconds before the one that counted. "I was kind of bummed [about the no goal], but I knew we had a good chance to win."

The Comets' chances looked great when they scored three goals in the second period, senior sparkplug Sam Littman scoring twice on big hustle efforts for the big lead.

But the Lions, who ruled in the White East Division of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League, put on tons of pressure as freshman Brandon Gottlieb and senior Cory Bonda scored before senior Chad Sonkin scored twice, the second one tying the game with three minutes left in regulation.

"Four goals seems insurmountable," said Orange coach Rob Whidden. "You can't tell them that. I told them get one goal and we'll worry about the next one. They plugged away and plugged away and it showed in the third period."

Still, the Comets did not let matters get away from them as they hung tough when it appeared to be slipping away.

"We told our guys before the third they were coming out at us," said Solon first-year coach Mike Stephens. "We had to make a push because they were going to come back. I told them to take a breath and relax. These boys came together."

St. Ignatius 4, Shaker Heights 1 Forced to go into five overtimes on Saturday in a win against University School, the last thing the Wildcats needed was another marathon affair. They made sure that didn't happen as they rallied from a slow start to defeat the Raiders in the Baron Cup I title game for the second straight year.

After senior Jacob Shick put the Raiders in front in the first period, the Wildcats (27-5-3), ranked No. 1 in the state, tied it on a goal by senior Joe Malone at the start of the second period. Two minutes into the third, sophomore Matty Geither came up with the big play when he collected a loose puck at the Shaker blue line and converted on a breakaway against senior goaltender Eric Sterin.

"I wasn't thinking about anything but going to the net," said Geither. "[Saturday night's] game was really tiring. The second period we picked it up for a good team effort."

The Wildcats cemented things when senior Miles McQuinn scored off a pass from junior Beck Schultz with 4:06 to play and McQuinn scored into an empty net at the finish.

"It took a period to get going," said St. Ignatius coach Pat O'Rourke "We changed up a few things and jump-started the kids."

Shaker Heights (22-7) came in ranked No. 5 in the state and was seeking its first Baron Cup title since 2001. It was the Raiders' third loss this season to the Wildcats.

Baron Cup III

North Canton Hoover 4, Mayfield 3, OT A week after losing to the Wildcats by a 5-2 count, the Vikings (24-7) turned the tables as they won their first Baron Cup III title in stirring fashion. Sophomore defenseman Alex Zielke netted the winner seven minutes into the first overtime when he drilled home a wrist shot after collecting a loose puck just to the left of Mayfield goaltender Danny Wilson.

"I was trying to get it on net and I wanted to go top shelf," said Zielke. "There is no better feeling after they beat us by three."

The back-and-forth contest was tied midway through the second period, 2-2, with Mayfield getting goals by sophomore Paul Jablonski and junior John Schrieber. Hoover sophomore Zach Lawson put the Vikings in front with his second goal of the game for a 3-2 lead. It was Lawson's seventh goal in three tournament games.

The Wildcats (21-10-2) evened it with 7:01 to play in regulation when senior defenseman Dominic Horvath scored on a power play.

Mayfield had won two of the past three Baron Cup III tournaments.

"We worked our tails off but didn't get the bounces," said Mayfield coach Steve Bogas. "We didn't capitalize on a few mistakes they made and they did on a few of our mistakes."

Both of Hoover's goals in the second period came on unassisted goals by Lawson and senior captain Brad Harcourt, both players hustling through the Mayfield defense.

"This is the first time we've won after the first round," said Harcourt. "We wanted to play them again. We were confident they would be in the final we thought we could beat them."

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